4 Mumbai businessmen found murdered

Nov 16, 2012, 03.14AM ISTTNN[ Vijay Singh ]

NAVI MUMBAI: Four real estate agents were found brutally murdered at a Panvel farmhouse early on Wednesday. They had reached the venue on Sunday for a two-day party during the Diwali break, it is learnt.

Police are speculating that business rivalry could be a possible motive. All the four victims, aged between 40 and 50, reportedly dealt with various properties and land plots in Navi Mumbai and Raigad regions.

Bloodied bodies of Ramdas Patil, Nitin Joshi, Pritam Gharat and Balaram Topale were recovered from the farmhouse at Shirole village. Patil's uncle, reportedly, is the owner of the farmhouse.

While Patil's head was fatally smashed with a heavy stone, the other three were shot dead from a close range.

Police have recovered a country-made handgun, which was reportedly found in Topale's hand, though they said, that according to their probe, this gun was not used to fire at the victims.

While the police have not yet made any formal arrests, four dedicated teams have been set up to investigate the case and the cops have confirmed that they are getting vital clues on the suspects.